New names, but still no-names, free-agent defenders Matt Bucknor, DeQuin Evans, Tony Burnett, Dylan Ainsworth and Buddy Jackson are breathtaking in their lack of recognition.

Even casual fans of the B.C. Lions can get exited by the addition of Roadrunner Chris Williams to a dynamic receiving corps which already includes Manny Arceneaux, the re-signed Bryan Burnham, the returning-from-injury Nick Moore, an intact starting offensive line and a quarterback, Jonathon Jennings, who can blow the top off a CFL defence.

Surely, though, the hungriest Lions fan, eager for June to arrive, can’t get much nourishment from a defence which lost Adam Bighill, Bo Lokombo, Alex Bazzie and Anthony Gaitor to the NFL, Jabar Westerman and Ryan Phillips to the Montreal Alouettes, and starting cornerback Brandon Stewart to a long, slow recovery from reconstructive knee surgery.

“All of those (new) guys are good additions,” maintains linebacker Solomon Elimimian, the two-time CFL defensive player of the year and kingpin of the Lions’ D. “Those guys we lost did a lot of good things for us. But it’s unfair to say we won’t be as good as last year. Time will tell. I think we did a good job in free agency. Even some of the guys who were backing up our starters last year are pretty good players.”

The doubting fan also might take heart from the words of defensive coordinator Mark Washington. He believes that a group which includes Elimimian, nose tackle Mic’hael Brooks, three potential starters in the secondary returning from injury — Ronnie Yell, T.J. Lee and Steven Clarke — and a bunch of guys who never heard of can work out the same as last year.

They’ll all get names, sooner or later.

“Our intention is not for our defence to be as good as it was last year, but to be better. To surpass it. To be a championship defence,” Washington says. “All the moves that we’ve made push us in that direction. But we’ll see. We’ll see how it goes through OTAs (late April) and training camp (starting May 28) and on and on through the season.” The various new pledges and pickups have a high standard to maintain. Leaguewide, B.C. finished first in a number of defensive categories in 2016 — fewest first downs, plays from scrimmage, net offence, rushing attempts — and tied Calgary for the overall lead in quarterback sacks (52). Those stats camouflaged the fact the Lions were eighth-ranked in take-aways — 29 — and dead last in interceptions (nine).

Among the newbies, the player with the greatest amount of slack to take up is Burnett, the erstwhile Winnipeg Blue Bombers linebacker who’ll be asked to replace Elimimian’s good friend and soulmate, Bighill — the indefatigable, sideline-to-sideline linebacker and 2015 CFL defensive player of the year. He received a three-year contract and signing bonus from the New Orleans Saints, a team that is particularly inclined to cull the CFL for player help.

“Tony’s very versatile,” Elimimian says. “He’s got a DB (defensive back) background, so he’s mobile. And he competes hard. He plays with a lot of emotion.”

While Evans’ achievements last year in Montreal — he played behind two premier defensive ends, John Bowman and Gabe Knapton — were not spectacularly visible, the Lions talk about the wonders that could be wrought by a veteran whose play is of particular note in the video room, if not the stats sheet.

“I’ve always been surprised by how strong and explosive he is,” Elimimian says. “Hopefully, we can get what we see on film.”

The free-agent signings of Evans and Bucknor, a six-year veteran defensive back with previous stops in Hamilton, Winnipeg and Calgary, were under the radar and easily eclipsed by Williams, who came on board the following day.

Never drafted, never invited to a CFL combine, rejected at tryouts and a surprise cut by the Blue Bombers in 2015, despite 101 defensive tackles and three interceptions over two seasons, Bucknor’s unlikely pro career is to believe that anything is possible if you believe in yourself. He has twice participated in a Grey Cup game — with Hamilton in 2013, with Calgary last year — without a chance to sip from the silver chalice.

At 31, the championship window is narrowing for the former Windsor Lancer, who is pencilled in to compete with Keynan Parker for a starting job at wide-side cornerback, if the Lions decide to start two Canadians in the defensive secondary.

“When B.C. called, it was silly to turn the opportunity down,” Bucknor said. “They’ve kept a lot of important pieces and they’ve added some top pieces. They’ve had continuity for success over the years. They’ve got a good team, a really good team, a championship-calibre team.”

Before that is achieved, the Lions’ commonplace signings must make extraordinary efforts to prove themselves more potent than first perceived.

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